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Sweet Smiles and Big Dreams
I met the cutest little girl yesterday who told me she wants to be a doctor so she can help people. How beautiful is that?
I’m going to say a prayer for her and her dreams; because I know the way the society we live in and the people in it can kidnap, rape, beat, and even murder the worthy dreams of our kids under the guise of doing what’s practical, of making money, and yes, even under the pretense of love.
Should you come across my new friend, the kid with the sweet as red kool-aid smile and bigger than life dreams, or any other hopeful child that dreams of someday making a difference in this world; I beg of you to forget about your own failures, to ignore that inner voice telling you that what these kids dream of is impossible, to step out of the box of your broken realities, and to refrain from speaking to them about all of the obstacles that will prevent them from ever achieving the dreams they seek.
Instead, offer a word of encouragement, let them know that you believe in them and that they can do it, tell them that there is nothing in this world that can stop them if they work hard, are determined, put their mind to it, and map out a plan.
Whatever you do, don’t be the reaper ushering another child’s dream into the graveyard where the broken dreams of those who never had the courage to pursue their dreams go to die… ~ Sean King
I Pray
I pray for all the families; for all the men, women, and children all over the world that are or will find themselves struggling to cope with the loss of loved ones.
I pray for the well being of all the people who find themselves barely hanging on and lost in our complex world of contradictions.
I pray that all of the children being taught violence as a solution to problems will someday find love and prove to be better than us, their teachers.
I pray that someday the American passion for life that gets displayed every time a tragedy strikes one of our communities becomes a permanent fixture in our hearts, and that this American humanity expands to include compassion for non-Christians and non-Americans all over the world.
I pray that one day, my Christian brothers and sisters will quit murdering in the name of Allah, my Muslim brothers and sisters will quit murdering in the name of God, and our American politicians will quit sending our American kids to war under the false pretense of democracy and justice.
I pray for you, in hopes that you when hit that wall and begin to believe you can’t go any further, that when you reach that point where you can’t see any hope, that when you find yourself in that space where darkness is the only thing that surrounds you, I pray that you will find the courage and perseverance to take one more step forward.
I pray for us, in hopes that someday we will truly treat one another as our brothers and sisters the way El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X) did when he returned from his Hajj, the way Martin Luther King, Jr. did when he embraced humanity, the way Mother Theresa did as she worked tirelessly to make the world better, and the way so many do as they heroically go on with the business of doing for others without any fanfare.
I pray…
Loss of Words
I’m not at a loss for words, I just find myself saying the same words over and over again. Today like every other day my soul cries for broken hearted parents who find themselves unnecessarily burying their children prematurely. I feel like a murderer every time our society fails the innocents among us. I feel like a rapist every time innocence is taken from a child who awakes to the hopeless horrors and their dreams become forever tarnished. I feel like a hypocrite because every single time a tragedy happens, we become temporarily human, compassionate and caring, and kind. But like all tragedies before this one, the pain, compassion, and human kindness will go away as we retreat back into our self centered bubbles and argue about the principle of what should be, while life continues to be lost to the reality of what is. To say we have to do better is a gross understatement. But I’ll say it anyway because it’s the truth. We must do better if we want to have any chance at a brighter tomorrow. — Sean King
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